Nairobi News

Registration for the 2015 First Lady Half Marathon has kicked off in Nairobi and Mombasa in preparation for the forthcoming marathon to be held on the 8th of March next year in Nairobi.

The marathon targets to host an estimated 50,000 participants following the success of its inaugural marathon which was held early this year which drew nearly 20,000 participants.

Registration for the marathon is on-going at various Nakumatt and Uchumi supermarkets in Nairobi as well as all Nairobi Sports House outlets in Nairobi and Mombasa.

Participants can also register online on the website www.beyondzero.or.ke. Registration for the marathon is Sh 1,500 per person.

BEYOND ZERO CAMPAIGN

The First Lady Half Marathon is aimed at raising awareness of – and seeking sponsorship for the Beyond Zero campaign; an endeavour by the First Lady of the Republic of Kenya, Her Excellency Margaret Kenyatta, to reduce cases of mother and child mortality cases at birth.

The 2014 First Lady Half Marathon helped raise Sh 200 million shillings that have gone into buying, and equipping, mobile clinics for all the 47 counties across the country.

So far, the First Lady has been delivering the mobile clinics to Counties based on the intensity of HIV/AIDs, maternal mortality and child mortality burden. As of 10th December 2014, a total of 16 mobile clinics had been delivered.

Statistics indicate that 108,000 children die in Kenya every year before their fifth birthday, with 65 per cent of them dying before their first birthday.

It’s also estimated that there are 72,000 infant deaths in Kenya annually, while 48,000 deaths occur during the first 28 days of life annually.